Èdouard Manet’s seascapes, with their bold spatial organization and use of vivid colors, were an astounding break with the conventions of marine painting at the time and influenced artists such as Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, and Gustave Courbet, among others. It’s little known that before becoming a painter, Manet sought a career in the French navy and spent six months at sea; his marine works reflect his intimate knowledge of the power of the sea. He is reported to have witnessed one of the most important naval battles of the American Civil War on June 19, 1864, and produced the remarkable painting The Battle of the “Kearsarge” and the “Alabama,” that is in the Museum’s collections. Manet and the Sea features essays by Juliet Wilson-Bareau, one of the leading Manet scholars in the world.